Lewis, as “Chloe,” teaches on exercise class on an upcoming episode of Desperate Housewives.

ABC

Lewis’ character talks to Felicity Huffman’s character in an episode of Desperate Housewives.

Ruby Lewis, who graduated from Shelby County High School’s class of 2003, will play “Chloe,” her first recurring role on television.

“I know many people here will be watching her Sunday night, no doubt about it,” said Lewis’ mother, Eve Lawson Lewis. “Everyone loves to know someone who is on TV.”

Ruby Lewis said when her audition went well for the show, she was very optimistic she would get the part.

“I had a great feeling about it after I left the casting office,” she said. “I believe the fact that the casting director himself worked in theater in New York helped my case. You never know in this business.”

Lewis describes her character, who will appear in two episodes of the show, as a “booty ballet” instructor, who she says is “peppy, perky, and a bit snarky,”

“Felicity Huffman’s character suspects that Tom is dating Chloe and decides to take one of her booty ballet classes to find out more,” she said. “Chloe is young and a bit ditzy. She is a yoga instructor, aroma therapist and lingerie model, or so according to what she tells people.”

Lewis, who has been developing a music-and-acting career, completed a national tour of the Broadway musical Grease last year and has moved on from musical theater to television.

So far this year, her parts have included a non-speaking part as a murder victim in the television drama Mediumin January, and a bit part in March on the ABC series Brothers & Sisters, in which her character had a name and did a scene with one of the show’s stars. Now she is climbing ever higher with her new role as Chloe on Desperate Housewives.

“This was by far the most involved role I’ve had since moving to LA,” she said. “I was nervous working alongside Felicity Huffman and Vanessa Williams, but the entire cast and crew was so down to earth; I got to carry on conversations between takes and learned that these television stars aren’t so different than all the rest of us.”

Lewis, 26, a Western Kentucky University graduate with a degree in musical theater, has also toured with the musical Gypsy, a show she did just three months after graduation.

“I went straight to New York City after graduation and left on the national tour of Gypsythree months later as Dainty June,” she said. “It was an incredible job out of school and an invaluable learning experience.”
Her television and film parts have included Another Perfect Stranger, 1 Messageand The Teleporter. She has performed in two music videos by David Olney and Audrey Montoya as a dancer and a club girl.

Her mother said she is proud of her daughter’s versatility as a performer, as evidenced in all the different kinds of roles she has landed.

“Ruby sings, dances, acts, plus she has been blessed with natural beauty, both inside and out,” she said.

Sound like a proud parent?

Maybe, but she just can’t help herself, Eve Lewis said.

“I am sure people get tired of hearing me brag about the latest on our Ruby, but I don’t care. Her dad [Tommy] and I, and well, the whole darn family, are just as proud as can be.”

Ruby Lewis is continually striving to reach for her dream of stardom, and already she has still another gig in the works.

“My next big project is the national tour of Jersey Boyson which I’ll be playing Francine, Frankie Valli’s daughter,” she said. “I had my shoe fitting yesterday and have eleven pairs of shoes in the show. It will certainly be a wonderful undertaking as an actress and an exciting experience being on the road again.

“I do love tour life. It can be hard at times, but it can be very glamorous at times as well. And Jersey Boysis a favorite for so many people, so I look forward mostly to entertaining people night after night.”

She has even bigger plans for 2012, she says.

“I’m looking forward to next year,” she said. “I’m hoping to have a go at a pilot season and possibly be a major character on your television screen next fall. Everything is unpredictable, but if I work hard and prove that I am kind and dependable, I may just make it.”

While dashing here and there, from one coast to the other, she hopes to

squeeze in a family visit as soon as she can.

“I hoping to make it home to Shelbyville next week for a few days before heading to New York to start rehearsals,” she said. “It all depends on when I’m scheduled to film this next episode of Housewives.

“Unfortunately, at this point in my career, I have to go where the jobs take me, and sometimes that means a lot of time passing without seeing the family.”

Eve Lewis she and the entire family understands that Ruby has a hectic, though exciting, life right now, and she keeps up with her life by spending time with her on the phone.

“I love talking to her and living a little vicariously through her experiences, hearing about the set, her trailer, her makeup artist and wardrobe artist, all that’s very exciting,” she said. “Every day is an adventure when you have a child in show biz.”